Money Trouble

I feel a need to apologize to the rest of the world for our confusing money. How is somebody from a foreign country supposed to know how much a dime is worth? Where did we get the arbitrary names of dime, nickel and penny from anyway?

Last week we were on vacation. We started off by going to Boise to be a part of our niece’s baptism. Instead of heading straight back home we took the scenic route through the Columbia River Gorge and Mount St. Helens. As part of vacation we are always on the lookout for pressed penny machines. (Ashley has quite the collection and is always looking to add more to the 600 or so she already has.)

So now on to the reason for my apologetic blog.
At the Johnston Ridge Observatory at Mount St. Helens there is a penny machine. Near the penny machine there was a display of various types of volcanic rock from different volcanoes from around the world. As I was examining the different types of rock I noticed a lady having a problem making a pressed penny. For those who have never had the experience of using one of these wonderful contraptions they are really quite simple. You place 2 quarters and 1 penny in the appropriate coin slots (the quarters pay for the privilege of squishing a penny, and the penny is what you squish), push them in and let her rip. Nothing to difficult unless you have no idea what the various coins are. The lady was from London and feeling a certain affinity to the English People, I offered my assistance. Her main problem was instead of using a penny she had a dime in the slot. Since she had no penny and I happened to have one in my pocket I furthered good will between our countries by giving it to her.
I understand her dilemma; there is nothing on our coinage that indicates its value. Other countries coins have a number clearly printed on them as to there value. But not us, we like to make it as confusing as possible for those dang foreigners.

Another funny money story from our vacation. We stayed in a B&B in Hood River Oregon. As I was bringing stuff in from the car I saw a penny, 1 cent >8-), on the ground or so I thought. Never to overlook making a little extra money I picked it up. Upon initial examination I thought it was a Canadian penny, but it just didn’t look right so I looked closer. It turned out to a Euro 2 cent piece. Huh! Little town in Oregon and I find a Euro coin. It has now been added to my jar of various coins from around the world.